Visiting hours in the maternity ward ended at ten o'clock. We ignored this rule. She tried to sleep but was frightened of them separating us. We didn't have custody of our baby, we didn't have our phones, we didn't have any family here but we had each other.
We weren't caught until midnight and, even then, I just pretended to leave. It wasn't until two o'clock that the rule was actually enforced. I saw intense sadness on my girlfriend's face as her eyes filled with tears and her lips turned into the heartbreaking frown I had seldom seen before. I'm still disappointed that no consideration for our situation was made. But this wasn't hospice and the staff had no awareness.
I didn't feel much compassion from the nurse in charge as I plead my case. "The fathers spend the night at home, you need sleep. She'll be here in the morning," she said. I calmly told her,"But I bet every other family in here knew they were having a baby before this morning. She has separation anxiety and will cry if I leave." The nurse lightened up a little. She said I could come back at seven in the morning instead of ten.
Leaving that night was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.
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